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Social media scheduling: what 6 tools cost

Scheduling and publishing content to multiple social media platforms on a calendar. Every price below is the plan a buyer actually lands on to get this capability — not the headline figure on the pricing page, and not the free tier that does not include it. Read from each vendor's own material and dated.

Ordered by what it costs, cheapest first, starting at Free.
Buffer Free Buffer Verified 2026-08-22 No-cost plan for up to 3 connected channels with basic scheduling, AI assistant drafts, and community inbox, used as an on-ramp before upgrading. Free FreeFree tier is the actual landing plan for this audience; commission only accrues once they convert to a paid plan. Details → Buffer Essentials Buffer Verified 2026-08-22 Per-channel scheduling and publishing tool with unlimited posts and advanced analytics for individual creators and small businesses. $5/mo EssentialsThe recommended entry paid plan at $5/month per channel (billed annually); most solo users connect 2-5 channels. Details → Later Social Media Scheduler Later Verified 2026-08-22 Social media management $15/mo SaaS subscriptionPer-user monthly subscription model Details → Planner Metricool Verified 2026-08-26 Schedules and publishes posts across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, X and more from a shared content calendar $20/mo Starterthe plan this buyer lands on Details → Iconosquare Social Management Iconosquare Verified 2026-08-22 Social media analytics and scheduling platform tracking 100+ performance metrics across eight networks including Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn, with an AI analyst ('Uma'), approval workflows, and white-label reporting built for agencies serving multiple clients. $99/mo Monthly or annual subscriptionTiered subscription with per-tier commission Details → Social Management Hootsuite Verified 2026-08-22 Schedule, monitor, and manage social media across channels $249/mo ProfessionalMost popular paid tier Details →

This page compares what each tool does and what it costs. It does not name a winner: picking one honestly needs a researched verdict for every option, and the corpus does not carry those yet — so nothing here is ranked by anything but price.

When these prices change, we send a note

Vendors change plans and quietly move capabilities between tiers. We re-read the terms and send one note a week with what moved — including social media scheduling.

One note a week, every figure dated and linked to its source. Unsubscribe in one click; we never sell or share the address.